Behind The Story
by CoolnRainy
Summary: Companion piece to my fic "Stark and Potts: An Archive". These are scenes between Tony and Pepper related to each article in that fic.
1. Tony Stark Hires New PA

**A/N:** Hi, guys ... So this is a companion piece to my fic _Stark and Potts: An Archive_. For each of the articles in that fic, I'm gonna write a related scene between Tony and Pepper. That was my original idea for that fic, but I wound up preferring the style that I published. But the ideas for the scenes are still in my head, so I decided to write this. Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** Iron Man, its concepts and characters belong to Marvel and not me.

**Chapter 1: Tony Stark Hires New PA**

Tony Stark was in a particularly bad mood. He had somehow missed an important advertising meeting because his last personal assistant, Jennifer ... Joanna ... well, whatever, she hadn't logged it into his schedule before she had quit. And by quit, he meant left his bed in the morning after they had slept together, taken his twenty thousand dollar watch, and disappeared without being seen or heard from again. That had been a full week before and he still had not found time to hire a new one. Mainly because he was spending most of his time catching up on things he was forgetting.

Case in point was when he had screeched over to a business lunch after Obadiah called him in some frustration to say that he had missed the business _brunch_ (he hated all business meals) and in doing so, forgotten about his hiring session for new secretaries.

Well, anyway, he had once more spent his afternoon apologising to Obadiah, before agreeing to have this meeting on the spot. As such, he had had to postpone his hunt for an assistant yet again so that he could sit and scowl at three men draped around his office harping on about their public image. This was one thing in which he had no interest or ability to provide input. He had implored Obadiah multiple times to take over that responsibility, but it was not to be.

So when, somewhere in the middle of choosing between several potential billboard designs, he heard a slight commotion happening outside his office door, his interest was piqued far more than usual. He heard what sounded like a female voice arguing with Happy. Happy started out firm, but as the female voice grew more insistent, Happy's seemed to be fading.

The three advertising gurus and Obadiah appeared not to have noticed.

Tony slipped up from his seat, momentarily unobserved, and headed over to the office door, which he opened.

"-don't let me talk to him right now, I _will_ pepper spray you. That canister has stopped bigger guys than you, pal!"

A pretty young woman with red hair tied back into a neat ponytail and dressed in an elegant navy blue business suit was standing almost nose to nose with a rather disconcerted looking Happy. Two other security guards had just approached and were hovering uncertainly in the area, clearly waiting for a signal from Tony's bodyguard.

"Tony?" came Obadiah's voice from behind him.

He ignored it, closing the door behind him.

"What's going on out here?" he asked in the pause during which Happy appeared to be considering his next move.

Happy, the security guards and the girl all turned to face him.

"Uh, it's nothing, boss," Happy began, but was interrupted by the girl.

"Mr Stark, I have to talk to you, it's urgent."

He looked at her curiously. She was clutching a folder in her arms and looked both worried and determined. He was sure she would have stormed right over to him had Happy's arm not been stopping her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Virginia Potts, I work down in finance. I was just auditing your last – look, can you get your hands off me, I'm trying to talk here!"

Tony glanced up at Happy, trying not to grin at his friend's obvious discomfort, and said, "It's fine, Happy."

The girl gave Happy a dirty look as he dropped his arm. Tony walked over to them.

"She doesn't have an appointment, boss," Happy explained faintly.

Tony shrugged and said, "For all I know, she might do."

"I don't, actually," she informed him. "But this is important, it really couldn't wait. You see, I found a mistake here in your last outgoings report and-"

Tony reached out and plucked the folder out of her arms, flipping it open as she continued.

"-frankly, it looks kind of suspicious and I thought I'd better tell you now, because we're being audited by the IRS and I don't want it to look like you're being sleazy or something."

"What if I was being sleazy?" he asked her with a grin, glancing up from the figures in front of him.

"Tony, please."

Obadiah had appeared behind him and was tugging him by his elbow.

"Right," Tony mumbled glumly allowing himself to be pulled back in the direction of his office. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Thanks, I'll take a look."

She nodded, looking relieved and grateful in a defiant kind of way. And there was something else about her that made him continue to study her over his shoulder, but then he had been ushered back into his office and the door had been closed behind him and she was gone. He settled back at his desk, offered a curtesy apology and waited for the meeting to resume before he returned his attention to the contents of the folder the girl had given him.

He perused it for some time before he realised his error. Then he grinned widely. It was a small error, barely noticeable, barely understandable in fact. But he could see her point. If it was spotted by an IRS agent (something he doubted would have actually happened), things would have looked a bit dicey for him. He took out his pen and scribbled in the margin of the page as he tried to remember when he had done this.

A couple of weeks ago ... Maybe less. Was it after Janet ... Georgia? ... Whatever, it might have been the day she vanished when he had been hassled, confused and hung over. He perused the rest of the document. Not a single other error to be found. That girl was good to have spotted it. She must have quite an eye for detail.

He smirked to himself as he remembered her threatening Happy with pepper spray. She hadn't even had a purse on her, so Tony was willing to bet there wasn't a canister in sight. But it had worked. She had gotten to see him at once. That was quite a feat; usually only Obadiah could achieve that, generally with a much poorer outcome. Like now.

He sighed as he eyed the people sitting around him. He hadn't heard a word they had said for the past fifteen minutes and none of them seemed to have noticed. This could have been a useful time. He could have found an assistant. There had been a particularly stunning brunette he had had his eye on waiting outside when he had cancelled.

His eyes drifted back down to the folder in his hands and the face of the red haired girl drifted back into his memory. Mainly he remembered the fiery determination glowing from those sharp blue eyes. He frowned slightly at the memory of her face. There was certainly something about her. That something in the look on her eyes that had drawn his interest. And it was an interest that was a step further from his usual interest in a woman. An interest that was not based on her cleavage or her legs.

That, he thought suddenly, is who I need.

He got to his feet at once and said, "Sorry, gentlemen, but something's come up. You can wrap this up without me."

"Tony-"

"Sorry, Obie, I seriously have to deal with this now."

Without a backwards glance, he strode to his office door and out into the hall. As the door swung shut behind him, he headed towards Happy.

"Where's the pepper spray girl?" he asked.

Happy looked surprised.

"Uh, she left, boss."

"Damn it. Who did she say she was?"

"She said she worked down in finance ..."

"Didn't catch her name?" asked Tony in irritation.

"Didn't _you_?" retorted Happy. "I was distracted by her threat to mace me."

"Come on, Happy, you know I can't remember girls' names," said Tony, rolling his eyes. "Forget it, come on."

He strode to the door, Happy following in his wake.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to find her."

It was a good thing he had Happy with him. He hadn't the faintest idea where to find the finance department. They went down a few floors, negotiated a maze of corridors and wound up facing a receptionist sitting behind a small counter.

She flushed when she recognised Tony.

"Mr Stark! What can I do for you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone who works down here?"

"Anyone in particular, sir?"

"Yeah. Happy?"

Happy glowered at him before turning to face the receptionist.

"We didn't get a name, but she must be early twenties, red hair, freckles ..."

But Tony had suddenly noticed the very object of his search down the hall entering an elevator. Abandoning Happy, he started quickly in her direction.

"Hey!" he called out. "Hey, Pepper Spray!"

She had turned in the elevator and he could see her frowning in some surprise at seeing him rush down the hall to meet her as the doors began to close. She quickly reached across and must have pushed the right button, because the doors opened again and he slipped in to join her.

"Hi," he said with a grin.

"Mr Stark," she said politely. There was a pause and then she added, as she nodded at the folder he was still holding, "Did you see-"

"Yeah, it was very well spotted," he informed her, staring again. He had just realised that the thing he had seen shining in her eyes, the thing that had so captivated his interest, was raw intelligence. When had he last hired a truly intelligent woman?

"Then, what did you-"

"I just came by to thank you," he said, smirking again. "You know, for your very determined effort to bring this to my attention."

She remained composed although he wondered if her cheeks had reddened slightly. It was hard to tell in the bad lighting of the elevator.

"It was urgent," she said. "I know I caused a bit of a scene, but nobody would listen-"

"I'm not being sarcastic," he said. "I'm serious. It _was_ important and I'm grateful you recognised that and cared enough to create a scene and threaten my bodyguard."

"Well ..."

She seemed to have nothing else to say. He glanced at the numbers flashing the floors. They were almost at the ground floor.

"I want to promote you," he said, deciding not to waste time. "I'd like you to be my executive personal assistant."

She looked greatly surprised.

"I'll double your salary and I promise not to sleep with you."

A flicker of amusement crossed her features now.

"Well, you know, thank goodness, because I could never have said no to that all by myself," she said in dry tones.

He grinned, more certain than ever that she was the one. The real one. The one that he would have working by his side, properly helping him run his company. Rather than the women he hired to follow him around, look pretty, flatter him and then sleep with him.

"My point, Pepper Spray, is that I won't treat you with the general poor respect I treat my other female employees."

"But why?" she asked.

The elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened. They stepped into the lobby.

"What do you mean? Do you want to be objectified?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Why make _me_ your executive assistant?" she clarified. "Shouldn't you interview me, or read my credentials-"

"I already know that I want to hire you," he said with a shrug. "You're smart and you get what you want. That's what I need. I'm not just asking for someone that I can send to get my coffee. I'm asking for someone who can also help me run my company. Someone I can trust to make decisions and take care of my life and my company's wellbeing. I need help. And I want _your_ help."

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"You up for it?" he asked, feeling impatient.

"_Would_ I be getting your coffee?"

"It's in the job description."

Suddenly she smiled at him and said, "Fantastic. I live for that stuff."

"You'd also have a real role in the way this company is run. You'd have responsibility. And you'd answer to no-one except me."

Her eyebrows were still raised.

"Look. I get that the job sounds stupid right now and probably even worse considering my previous record with assistants. But they weren't doing the job I needed them to do. My dad's secretary? She ran his life. He would have been lost without her and this company would probably be in shambles. _My_ life is a mess now. I need someone capable. I need a real assistant."

"And you want me to do that?"

"Yes."

They looked at each other. He was staring at her in fierce determination and she was looking at him in what he could only describe as temptation combined with hesitation.

"What's the problem?" he asked her.

She bit her lip and then said, "I've never done anything like that before. I'm not sure you're asking the right person."

"I am. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'm always right."

She gave the folder in his hand a pointed look.

"And the one mistake I did make, _you_ fixed. I need you."

She stared at him, smiling slightly. He smiled back at her. He liked her already.

"Okay, then," she said and his smile widened to a grin.

"Fantastic! You start immediately."

"I need to wrap up my life upstairs, first," she told him, amusement still playing in her eyes.

"Fine, then you start first thing tomorrow."

After another pause, she nodded.

He felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He just knew outright that things were finally going to stop spinning madly out of control. He had found what he could only adequately describe as his ideal sidekick.

"Thank you so much, Ms ...?"

Her eyes laughed.

"Potts," she said. "Virginia Potts."

"_Virginia_? I'm never gonna remember that."

x x x

**TBC**

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you thought.


	2. Tony Stark Praises Pepper Potts

**A/N: **Thanks everyone for the reviews! :-)

**Chapter 2: Tony Stark Praises "Pepper" Potts**

"Mr Stark? I wanted to run something by you."

Virginia (or Pepper, as she was now called by pretty much everybody, ever since her boss had first introduced her as "my new assistant, Ms ... um ... Pepper Spray Potts ... Yeah, Pepper Potts, that works") had been working as Tony Stark's personal assistant for about a month and a half. Frankly, she still wasn't entirely sure that she had made the right decision in accepting his job offer, but she was still here finding her rhythm and proving most people wrong about her.

All in all, the job was a challenge, it was true, but she was kind of enjoying it. Despite herself, she had taken a liking to her eccentric boss and had been pleasantly surprised when he had kept to his word and not treated her inappropriately at all. Other than that, he didn't exactly make her life easy, but for some reason, she still enjoyed coming to work every day.

At this moment, she was standing in front of Mr Stark as he emerged from behind a car in his workshop downstairs. She hadn't been allowed down there for the first couple of weeks of her job and had been instructed to call him on the intercom if she ever needed him. This system had annoyed her, as he would often ignore the buzzing or claim to be unable to hear it over his music.

She had finally lost her temper, stormed down against his will and knocked on the glass door until he had looked up and come over to let her in.

"I thought I told you to buzz me," he said mildly as he punched in the code on his side of the door.

"I did, but you weren't answering."

He gave a sigh.

"Yeah, well I would have eventually. I'm busy."

Trying to curb her annoyance, she had said calmly, "I need to be able to get hold of you, Mr Stark. For instance, you've been called to an emergency meeting because there was a malfunction on one of your freight carriers and some kind of explosion. You need to meet Mr Stane now. It couldn't wait."

Still looking generally unphased, he said, "Look, this place is the one place I go to escape, okay? No-one comes down here except me."

"Didn't you hear anything else I just said?"

"Yes, I did, I'm coming."

They had reached the living room when she suddenly said, "I'm supposed to be taking care of you. You're going to have to _let_ me do my job properly."

He eyed her without a word and then vanished upstairs to shower the grease off his face and change into something more presentable. By the time he had come down, he seemed to have changed his mind.

"The car's out front," she told him.

"Thank you, Ms Potts. The code is 8669."

"What code?"

"To my workshop."

And he had swept out without another word.

Ever since then, she had come down to speak to him whenever she needed to and he had not said a word against it. In fact, they hadn't even mentioned it again.

But that was still why she was feeling a bit hesitant at the moment, the first time she had sought to see him on her own agenda.

"What's up?"

He was rubbing his hands on a rag, but seemed generally good humoured. That was a relief; he was often a bit distracted or moody when he had been in his workshop too long.

"Well, do you remember a few days ago, you asked me to sort through your family's art collection?"

"Yep. You done?"

"Yes, I've got it all catalogued and valued, and I took a proper look at it last night. It's quite an impressive collection."

"Yeah? I haven't seen any of them in years."

He sauntered out so that he could lean against the front of his car and stare at her. She swallowed uncertainly.

"I had an idea, you see," she said.

"Let's hear it."

He was much calmer than she was.

"Well, I don't know how much you read about, you know, the cultural industry in the area?"

"Nothing at all."

She blinked and found herself fighting a smile.

"Well, the industry's taken a bit of a knock lately," she said carefully. "It's lost popularity and funding. We have several talented artists and good quality galleries, but they're not getting any support. Many of the galleries are on the point of closing down due to bankruptcy."

He was studying her with a mild expression.

"Anyway, the thing is that you're a popular person in the community, and you have this fantastic collection that is just gathering dust and mourning its loss of cultural significance and I think we could use it to help the situation."

His face had broken into a grin.

"I mean, I know you don't have a great interest in this kind of thing, but I always have ... And I really think we have a great opportunity to help the situation."

"Okay," he said. "Go for it."

She gave a small frown.

"Go for ... what?"

"Whatever you have in mind, do it."

"Um ..." she mumbled, and then hesitated. "Don't you want to know what I'm thinking?"

"I'd love to hear it," he said, suddenly pushing himself off the car and strolling over to his mini fridge. "Drink?"

"No, thank you," she said, following in his wake.

"Well, what's the idea then, Ms Potts?" he asked, smiling at her as he poured himself a scotch.

She explained her idea for the event to him then, watching as he considered her with mild interest. He asked the odd curious question, but did not offer any corrections or objections at all. When she had finished, he shrugged and said, "Sounds great. Let me know when and where."

"Do you have ... anything you don't agree with, or any thoughts-"

"This is your event, not mine." He gulped the last of his drink down. "Do whatever you think will work."

Taken aback by this blatant display of trust in her abilities, she managed to sputter out a, "Thank you," amidst a happy smile that she couldn't keep in.

"I'm sure I'll be thanking you," he replied politely. "It'll be good publicity." Then he added, "Oh, I did want to ask, your interest in art ... Is it something you would enjoy pursuing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if we're going to share my art collection with the world, I'd need someone to curate it. You interested?"

She felt a thrill of excitement.

"Really? I mean, I don't have a degree in art or anything, I only took a couple of courses whenever I could-"

"But you'd like that?"

"Very much so, yes," she said, grinning at him.

"Great, do it. I think it might be nice for me to learn a bit about it myself."

"Well, you could start by looking at what you already have," she suggested, trying to smother the slight sarcasm that coloured her words.

His grin, however, told her she hadn't managed.

"Fantastic idea. You can take me on a tour once you have it sorted out."

"With pleasure."

There was another moment as they smiled at each other. She felt warm and happy and an odd new rush of affection for the man in front of her. For the first time, she was suddenly completely content with her job. Already, her mind was buzzing with plans and ideas, and an odd excitement at the knowledge that she had the resources and the authority to carry them out. All because, for some reason, Tony Stark had decided he liked her.

She wanted to express her gratitude to him, but she somehow sensed that any further thanks might make things uncomfortable. So instead she opted for her usual polite mode of departure.

"Anything else I can do for you, Mr Stark?"

"No, that's all, Ms Potts, thank you."

x x x

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! I must say I find it a challenge writing these earlier interactions and keeping them in character, seeing as obviously I'm only familiar with them much later. Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think.


	3. Pepper Potts More Than Just A PA?

**A/N: **Thanks everyone for the reviews!

**Chapter 3: Pepper Potts More Than Just A PA?**

Pepper flushed as she read the article.

It wasn't exactly a shock. She knew perfectly well that there were rumours. She had heard the whispers, seen the looks and sensed the dislike from certain people (most of them women). But there was something about seeing it written in print like that, that made the whole thing suddenly seem horribly unbearable.

_He's probably slept with her a few times, but she's too hung up to quit._

Of course, there was no truth to the speculation, but it was humiliating and somewhat insulting to everything she had worked for over the past two years that people thought this about her. As if she would ever allow herself to become sexually involved with her boss. Particularly when her boss was one Tony Stark.

_I mean, come on, who's she kidding? He's a self-professed, proud playboy._

Well, she knew that, obviously. What did they think, that she hadn't a clue what he got up to? That she wasn't the one ushering his various one-night-stands out of the house on his countless mornings after? That she just fluttered around thinking that she could seduce and win over the infamous Tony Stark?

_Well, most of us just assume that she's in love with him._

Oh yes, sure, because it was entirely impossible for her simply to be able to work for Tony if she wasn't in love with him. For her to view her boss as who he was and like him, possibly even consider him a sort of friend. No way could she have any affection for him if it wasn't romantically inclined.

_Tony Stark's affection for Pepper Potts is clear, but is it for more than her brain and ability?_

And heaven forbid he care for her for reasons other than sexual willingness. You know, because he must be entirely devoid of feeling or honour just because he was irresponsible and enjoyed sleeping around. He couldn't possibly see her as someone he liked and trusted, could he?

_In the meantime, it seems that there is an on-going wager in the offices of Stark Industries as to how long Pepper will stick around before finally giving up on her lost love. _

She found herself bristling as she finished the article a second time. Well, they would all lose, she thought fiercely. Because she had no "lost love" to give up on. She had her boss, Tony Stark, who she had no intention of leaving at any time. She should put in an anonymous wager on never and have fun raking it in on her death bed.

"What's the matter with you?"

She jumped slightly from her spot on his sofa in his office. She hadn't heard him come in, her attention too focussed on the trashy magazine that someone had so thoughtfully left on her desk that morning. Probably the anonymous informant. She already had a list of suspects and was trying to dream up imaginative ways of firing them. Which, of course, she would never be able to do.

"Um, nothing," she said quickly.

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Come on, Potts, what is it? You look as angry as the last time I threw up on your new shoes."

"Don't remind me," she muttered irritably, her eyes travelling vaguely back down to the magazine on her lap. "Not one of my favourite memories, I - hey!"

He had snatched the magazine from her lap and was already scanning the article by the time she managed to jump to her feet and try to snatch it back. He dodged her with ease (well, he wasn't in heels), a slight frown taking over his face as he read on.

She heaved a sigh, gave up and returned to her seat, turning to her notepad to review his schedule for the day.

She didn't know why exactly she hadn't wanted him to see it. Maybe she just didn't want him to know that it was affecting her. She knew that it shouldn't, that rumours were rumours, that just because it was in some magazine it shouldn't mean anything. And anyway, she had a faint idea that this wasn't the first of these public speculations, but as her scope of news intel did not usually spread to publications of such calibre, this was the first time she had read something to that effect.

But the tone of the article was just so unnecessarily nasty, she thought, and it made her feel small and embarrassed, even though she knew it wasn't true. And the very fact that it was making her feel that way made her feel even more embarrassed. After all, her boss endured plenty of unpleasant news reports without batting an eyelid.

He suddenly tossed the magazine into the wastepaper basket next to his desk and flopped down next to her.

"What a load of crap," he said dismissively.

She looked at him. He was looking slightly more annoyed than she would have expected.

"I know," she said quickly.

"I know _you_ know," he said, looking at her. "I just wanted you to know that I know it, too."

For a moment, she was a touch puzzled. It's not as though he'd be under the illusion they were sleeping together. But then she realised that he was assuring her that he knew she wasn't harbouring some sort of secret unrequited love for him. She flushed again anyway.

"Thanks. Anyway, it doesn't matter, I think I was just a bit surprised."

"Why were you even reading it?" he asked her.

"It was on my desk this morning."

He promptly scowled.

"You think whoever gave this interview put it there?" he asked her.

"Probably," she said, suddenly wanting to drop it completely.

He gave a noise of irritation.

"It doesn't matter," she said again. "Can we just talk about the fact that you have a press conference in half an hour and you're sitting there in jeans?"

"It does matter, Pepper, because it's obviously bothering you. Why?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek and glanced automatically at his office door. It was firmly closed. She just didn't need someone walking in at that moment and seeing them having some kind of informal heart-to-heart. Not that anyone would.

"I don't really know," she admitted in a low voice, turning back to face him. "It ... just feels unpleasant."

"Okay, look, speaking as someone who has tons of experience with this sort of thing, as you know," - he flashed her a smile that replaced the slight irritation on his face - "people mainly do this out of jealousy, not disapproval."

She scoffed.

"Well, people _would_ be jealous of you, wouldn't they?"

"And they're clearly jealous of you too, Ms Potts."

She stared at him incredulously.

"Why on earth would people be jealous of me?"

"Okay, you did ask. Because I'm me and obviously I like you enough that you've stuck around. And it's not just because I like to stare at your legs. My loyal fans all know perfectly well that you mean something to me. _They_ want to mean something to me, you see."

She rolled her eyes.

"Your modesty is touching."

"_Because_," he pressed on, looking earnest now, "of the fact that everything in that article was wrong. That stuff is wishful thinking, because people know perfectly well that you're as fantastic as I profess you to be."

She laughed then and he grinned back at her.

"At the very least," she teased.

"Besides, you and I both know I'll never be able to trick you into sleeping with me," he added with a wink.

"Hm, I'm glad you're aware of that."

"You don't keep it much of a secret, now do you?"

His smirk was filled with true amusement and she found herself reluctantly feeling amused, too. He did know how to cheer her up. He was right, of course. Sometimes she wondered what she would do without his comparatively light hearted view of the world to help calm her down. It occurred to her then, for the first time, that she really did consider him a friend, in their own unique way.

"Thanks," she said.

He gave a shrug and said, "And to put you in an even better mood, I'll even show up on time to the press conference."

"Wow, I should find disparaging articles about myself more often."

He chuckled and they got to their feet.

"Tell Happy to bring the car? I'll meet you downstairs in a minute after I've changed into something more respectable."

He kept a stock of outfits in a closet in his office, thanks to Pepper losing her patience with his general disregard for appropriate attire and getting sick of sending out for emergency wardrobe changes at the last minute.

"All right. Will that be all, Mr Stark?"

"That will be all Ms Potts."

She gave him a last friendly smile, which he returned. Then she strode from the room, all anger and hurt forgotten.

x x x

She didn't see Tony's scowl return to his face when she left the room. She didn't see him fish the magazine back out of the wastepaper basket. She didn't see him pick up the phone with cold purpose.

She was entirely unaware of the fact that within twenty four hours, he had located the "mystery" source in his department and had had her removed from his employ with a quiet warning that she never open her mouth about Ms Pepper Potts again.

She didn't know the fury that had bubbled in his chest for days afterwards.

x x x

**TBC**

**A/N: **Thanks very much for reading!


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